Search results

I would correct that. Football used to be for the spectators and fans, the behaviour of the governing bodies over recent years has shown they really don't give a hoot about fans. No better example than ticket prices and impossible travel at the World Cup, but add to that unneeded cooling...

Oh we are absolutely going there, starting with this year's world cup where they will no doubt get adverts into the cooling breaks. Once the genie is out of the bottle it is very difficult to get it back in. I don't think fans will initially accept it, but they will have to over time as it...

Not really. We already have the situation that footballers are threatening legal action over the amount of games they have to play, even though the increase in games is a direct result of the ever increasing salaries they are demanding. It isn't beyond comprehension that a player who probably...

That hardly seems fair though. As an example, Brentford have probably the best long thrower in football in Kayode, and he is a right back, to prohibit him from taking long throws on the left wing is arguably a restriction of trade. The way football is at the moment he could probably argue that...

I don't really think officials can win here. When they've given penalties for holding, and as we know there have been brief periods when this has been cracked down on over the years, the criticism has been harsh and they've been accused of ruining the game. If they now cracked down on it the...

Agree, but with the hire and sack, and win at all cost, cultures that now apply at all levels of football I'm not sure we can blame any manager from seeking any possible changes to gain a competitive advantage. This is an easy one to fix though, whether make an outfield player go off for a...

Given the reintroduction of long throws into the game I can't see them doing anything to prevent them. The devil will be in the detail, but if the count only starts when the referee deems they are in position / taking too long, the current delays caused by the left back trundling over to take a...

My spidey senses are nagging at me that this one is becoming a bit fan focused, so just a very gentle reminder that this will not be happening.

This wasn't a one off, defenders have been pushing attackers (and vice versa) into offside positions for years, this one just got more publicity as it led to a goal being disallowed.

I say in my pre-match that if I’ve I’ve given or turned down a penalty don’t get involved unless I’m the only idiot at this ground that thinks it is / isn’t a penalty. The aim there is 99% of my decisions will be left alone but if I really have dropped a total clanger I haven’t completely...

Given he had blood pouring from his head and a couple of stud marks I suspect that had a big influence on the outcome. I'm very much in the camp of not penalising accidental contact, but he really did "stud" him here and I can't see any outcome other than a red card for SFP.

Agree. I think it was a total accident, but if you raise your foot that high and plant your studs in an opponent’s face it can only really be SFP.

Not for me. His foot lands on the Galatasaray player’s leg which is moving away from him and he effectively “rides” the leg. Zero intent and nothing he could possibly do to avoid that contact.

All a bit of a farce really, and people should look at this when they complain about the standard of refereeing in the Premier League. I know that intent isn't taken into account when judging fouls and sanctions, but what could he possibly have done differently here? He's jumped for a header...

You've taken it wrong again, it was very clear he was talking to a player when he said end of.

I'm thinking from a PGMO perspective though when we've frequently heard them say that a push isn't enough. It sounds easy from a law perspective, but had the ball been in play I suspect a lot of people would have said the push on Burn was too "soft" for a penalty to be given.

It would in theory, but what if the push was deemed to be not strong enough to be a foul? In that case it would presumably still be offside, even though he was manoeuvred into that position whilst the ball was in play.

I would guess they either walk off in the allowed 10 seconds or they are deemed to be injured and need treatment. The outcome will be the same, either they or the sub will spend a minute off the pitch.

Always been the case that if you are in line for possible promotion to L3 you would be best advised not to book any holidays. Was a seminar rather than assessment day back in my time, but there was still zero tolerance to not turning up, know of several referees who had to cancel / rearrange...

BBC are reporting some other proposed changes. - Time limits on goal kicks and throw-ins with possession changing if they take too long (but no information on how long is too long). - Players being substituted only get 10 seconds to leave the pitch. If not off by then they still have to go off...